


Breathe For Me

by AngelTitan114



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, F/M, Homesickness, M/M, Mentions of Physical Torture, PTSD, Post-Canon, Psychological Torture, Spoilers for Season Two, Torture, aaaaannnngggssssttttt, but will also be focusing on other paladins in depth, klance, main focus is shiro/reader, year and a half after canon so only Pidge is underage
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-04
Updated: 2017-02-04
Packaged: 2018-09-19 14:44:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,568
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9445997
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AngelTitan114/pseuds/AngelTitan114
Summary: The raid changed everything. Allura changed. And the Paladins lost her when Lotor offered her a solution, but only at a price.At the price of the Paladins themselves.





	

**Author's Note:**

> In which Allura reveals the Paladins' greatest weaknesses in order to secure the future of Altea.

“Allura, what are you doing?!”

“Allura, stop!”

“It doesn’t have to be this way!”

The Altean princess paused as she crossed the boarding bridge. In the direction she was headed stood a tall, lithe Galra prince, his gleaming golden eyes watching the princess closely, his hand already on the las-rapier at his hip. From whence the princess came, the five Voltron Paladins had been forced to their knees, restrained by the Galra prince’s personal guard. They struggled valiantly, but to no avail, and only earned themselves more brutal treatment from the elite Galra soldiers holding them down.

“Forgive me, Paladins,” Allura answered, her voice and eyes distant as she gave the five humans a last glance. “I see no other way.”

 _“No!”_ the black Paladin shrieked angrily, incensed that the woman he had pledged his fealty to would turn them over so easily after everything they had been through together. _“Allura!”_

“Do not worry, my princess,” the Galra prince told Allura once she reached him. He gently took her hand and placed a chaste kiss upon her knuckles before meeting her cosmic gaze. “You have all but ensured the end of this war. You have nothing to fear from now on.”

Allura, with half-hearted eyes and an insatiable sadness in her features, nodded. “Thank you, Prince Lotor. Your words speak volumes in a time like this.”

“Don’t listen to him!” the red Paladin now screamed, his voice betraying his desperation. “He’s just playing to your vulnerability! He’ll kill you the first chance he gets!”

“Be silent, half-breed!” the Galra prince barked across the bridge, stepping in front of Allura protectively as she was escorted onto the main bridge of his ship. “Your alien words will no longer poison my princess, filth.” He stood proudly, tall and commanding like his father, but it was not triumph in his expression. “You will be dealt with as any evil should be; by being made an example of. The entirety of the galaxy will see that my father has prevailed. Peace will finally be achieved.”

 _“Peace?!”_ the red Paladin spat back, jerking against his captors, resulting in a knee to the stomach. “What you’re after isn’t peace, you monster,” he hissed as he doubled over, dark eyes glinting with defiance.

“What you speak of is optimistic peace,” the Galra prince said, narrowing his eyes as he motioned for their departure to be readied. “That does not exist in this universe, Paladin. While dictatorship may not be ideal, it is what we must settle for.”

With that, the Paladins were dragged down the gangway of the Galra ship until the depths swallowed their betrayed screams.

Allura stood before the viewing port on the bridge when the Galra prince entered. She did not speak when he came up beside her after administering orders to the bridge crew, but her eyes became downcast and the prince noticed.

“You made the right decision, Princess Allura,” he reassured her, heavily believing his own words. “They often say that the hardest choice is the correct one.”

“I did this for my people, Prince Lotor,” Allura replied instantly, her eyes slipping shut to block out the headache forming in her temples. “I don’t think I ever truly comprehended the fate of the Altean people until I lost my advisor. I did not understand that I was the last of the Alteans.”

“You do not have to be alone any longer, my lady,” the prince comforted her gently, taking her hands in his with a genuine smile gracing his undoubtedly handsome features. “I am Altean as much as I am Galra, and I swear I will do everything in my power to aid you in rebuilding our people.”

Allura could not smile. Too much remorse and ‘what if’s swirled through her mind. “I deeply appreciate your vow, Prince Lotor. I… I now understand the position I am in. I realize the duty I have to my lost people… I only wish I had realized it sooner. Perhaps this conflict could have been avoided. Perhaps… Perhaps Coran would still be with me…”

Allura steeled herself against her oncoming emotions and glanced up to meet the prince’s eyes. “You do remember your other promise, though, do you not?”

“Of course,” the prince assured her with a nod of head, their hands dropping away from the other. “The Paladins will be kept alive; you have my word, as High Prince of the Galra Empire. Though… you understand I cannot promise they will be kept unharmed, do you not? As dissenters of the Empire, they must be treated the same as any others. If they are to be made an example of-”

“I understand,” Allura swiftly cut him off, involuntarily biting her lip to force back the lump in her throat. Again, in a weaker voice, she said, “I understand.”

“Forgive me, Allura,” the prince apologized guiltily, knowing the subject of the Voltron Paladins’ fates was something she avidly avoided, but grudgingly accepted in exchange for their ultimate survival. “I did not mean to say such things.”

“I know, Lotor,” she answered softly, her eyes finding the vastness of the galaxy before her. “Please, just… do everything you can to ensure they live. I owe them at least that much.”

The prince’s eyes suddenly darkened, and he was internally conflicted to speak his next words. “Princess Allura, there _is_ a way to avoid prolonging their suffering. But first, there is something I must know about them…”

 

***

 

Shiro slammed his cybernetic fist into the hinges of the prison door a final time before he huffed out his frustration. “Dammit…!” he growled under his breath, enraged that he was so useless.

How could this have happened? Why had it come to this? They were supposed to be an unbreakable team: their year and a half of battle upon battle together, alongside each other, was evidence enough. So why had Allura thrown them aside as if they were expendable?

As much as he wanted to hate her, Shiro could not find it in his heart to do such a thing. “The lives of the many outweigh the lives of the few.” In this particular case, the lives of a nearly extinct planet outweighed the lives of five humans. Allura was only trying to save her people. Shiro would have done the same if he was in her position.

“The door won’t budge,” Shiro then announced out loud, turning to the other Paladins. “Any other ideas? Pidge?”

The green Paladin sat cross legged in the center of the room, her hair far more than just disheveled  and her glasses cracked as she contemplated their options. “Just by looking around, this cell is reinforced several times, like it was built to counteract your arm specifically, Shiro.” Pidge paused. “They took our bayards as well, and who knows where the lions are. I think our only option thus far is to just wait for something to happen.”

“What, wait until they come to kill us?!” Keith quickly countered, halting his pacing. “We’re sitting ducks in here!”

“Chill, dude,” Lance now piped up, opening his eyes from where he was leaning against a wall with his arms folded. It was subtle, but his fingers were tapping his arm continuously, giving away his own nerves. “Or do you have another way out of this tiny metal box?”

Keith begrudgingly bit his tongue.

“Should we wait until somebody comes, then rush them?” Hunk suggested to Shiro, having been standing next to the black Paladin. “Or if the lions are close enough, we can summon them here or something? Can’t they sense when we’re in danger?”

“I think Lotor is too smart for that,” Shiro replied dejectedly, crossing his arms as he joined the others in weighing their options. “If we’re lucky, he hasn’t destroyed the lions yet.”

Lance shot up, sudden fright falling over his face. “He can’t do that, can he?! Blue’s indestructible! There’s no way…”

The other three Paladins resigned to the thought, Lance still looking horrified. Shiro also felt disconcerted; though he was not certain, Lotor may eventually find a way to rid the galaxy of the Voltron lions for good. Then him and his fellow Paladins would just be a couple of humans eons from their homeworld.

“We have to get out of here,” Lance stated with renewed urgency, earning him a heavy glare from the red Paladin.

“Oh, _now_ you’re desperate to escape as soon as your lion is in danger, is that it?” Keith mocked, causing Lance to shoot back with his own comment until the two were bickering, as per usual.

“Quit it, you two,” Shiro demanded, giving each of them a sharp look. “Now isn't the time to act like children.” He sighed, turning his gaze to Pidge. “I agree; our only option is to wait at this point. We’ll just have to see what happens.”

 

***

 

When they finally came for the Paladins, the Galra spared them no quarter: Shiro was immediately sedated and held at gunpoint, the others complying willingly out of fear for their leader. They were taken in separate directions, the younger members of Voltron glancing back to Shiro as he was dragged away as well.

The black Paladin came to much later. His muscles were groggy, weak from lack of use, and he was only awake long enough to see Galra scientists hunched over his artificial limb. Again, he fell under.

The next time he woke, Shiro found himself in a containment cell similar to the one of before. Instead, his wrists were now chained behind him and connected to the wall, rendering him on his knees or sitting.

A quick look around told him that his only means of escape was a duct for air on the ceiling of the small, airtight cell, far from his reach. Shiro grit his teeth, and strained against his bonds. Were the others alright? Were they in similar situations?

Through the duct, Shiro could suddenly hear voices. Some unfamiliar, one undoubtedly the voice of Prince Lotor, and the final a more feminine one. Not Allura’s; Shiro knew that one too well. Not Pidge’s either, because of the level of physical maturity in the struggling words and tone.

“Please, I don’t know what’s going on! Where are you taking me?! I’m just a paramedic; I’m no one important!”

“But your name is [Name] [Surname], is it not? A former Terran Galaxy Garrison cadet and pilot, correct? Or are you a genetic clone of said Terran?”

“I… I am [Name], but what does that have to do with why you kidnapped me?! I doubt you can use someone like me as a bargaining chip!”

“Ah, such grandiose ideas… No, Terran. You are not that important. At least, not to the Empire. This prisoner may think differently, though.”

“What prisoner- _Get your hands off-_ ”

The voice was then cut off by a cry of pain, followed by the wall to the right of the black Paladin snapping open. Though there was an energy barrier that induced caution in him, it did not stop Shiro from seeing the prisoner on the other side, and his heart dropped into the pit of his stomach.

Though it had been two and a half years and they had been galaxies apart, there was no doubt in Shiro’s mind when he saw her unconscious form. Shiro had only shared the existence of this woman with Allura and Keith, and if she was here, that meant Allura (not Keith, never Keith) had shared Shiro’s secret with Lotor, and Lotor had been to Earth.

Shiro would not be the only one Lotor had in the palm of his hand: the Galra prince could also have the families and loved ones of the other Paladins.

“[Name]!” Shiro called frantically, eyes snapping wide with horror. One look at the blood trickling from her forehead sent him into an animalistic rage. “Let her go, Lotor!” the Paladin cried as a sickening number of emotions churned through him: betrayal, fear, unease, sheer apprehension. Shiro had thought she would be safe. She should have been safe. They should not have even known there was someone like her on Earth. “She doesn’t have anything to do with Voltron!”

“Not Voltron, no,” Lotor agreed, waving away the two Galra guards that had dragged [Name] into the cell, leaving the prince alone with the two humans. “But she is my key to you, is she not?” Lotor taunted despondently, pairing his dark truth with a step towards the human woman lying helpless before him.

Shiro snarled protectively and attempted to activate the energy in his cybernetic limb. However, the moment he did, a shock of severe pain slammed his nerves and he screeched in reaction.

It only lasted a few seconds, but once the overload of pain passed, Shiro felt like his very bones were shaking as his muscles went all but limp. His eyes drooped heavily, his jaw slackening, and he could hardly breathe. What had they done to him?!

“You may want to avoid such rash actions in the future, Paladin,” Lotor warned Shiro with narrowed eyes. “Fear not, though; your woman has not been harmed outside of manhandling in exchange for her struggling.”

But then Lotor paused, and Shiro panted heavily, feeling tears of pain pricking his eyes. “I cannot say the same,” the Galra prince continued, his eyes dark with malice, “for if you refuse to bow. I will give you a single chance now to do so; abdicate your claim to the Black Lion, become a soldier for the Galra Empire, and swear unyielding fealty to my father. This woman may live then, but only then. Now, give me your answer.”

 _“Never!”_ Shiro immediately roared, but it was a decision he would quickly come to regret.

Prince Lotor sighed and rubbed his temples with closed eyes. “Very well,” he eventually murmured and left the cell with a flick of his wrist.

Shiro’s shackles suddenly disengaged and he collapsed to the ground in surprise. He had no time to recover, though, because the two guards in [Name]’s cell dragged her limp form up.

“Don’t touch her!” the black Paladin shouted with killing intent, and did not hesitate to activate his cybernetic arm once more. But the same result as before occurred, and Shiro collapsed a second time. He was forced to watch helplessly as the two Galra chained [Name] to the wall of her cell far more intensely than they had him: two separate cuffs for her petite wrists, a chain for her legs and a single ring-like cuff for her neck. Why would they be so thorough with her bonds, only to release Shiro? What was Lotor’s motive behind it?

When they were finally alone, Shiro pulled himself as close to the energy barrier as he could without touching it and leaned against the wall. “[Name],” he murmured to the unconscious woman, his eyes roaming over her form. Two years had matured her so much, and she finally looked like the twenty-some year old she was, not the fresh-out-of-flight-school graduate he had fallen for years ago. “A paramedic, huh?” the Paladin continued, a small smile gracing his worn face. “Sounds like you…”

He tried with all his might to fight off the darkness this time in order to continue watching over his long lost beloved, but his strength quickly ebbed away and his eyes fell shut.


End file.
